Pokhara defeated Chitwan with two balls to spare in the final match of the league stage held in Kirtipur, securing fifth place with its third win.
What you should know
Pokhara Avengers defeated Chitwan Rhinos by 8 wickets in the second boring match of Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket on Saturday after Adam Rossington and Arjun Kumal shared a century partnership.
Chitwan, who came in to bat after winning the toss, could only score 120 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs at the Tribhuvan Cricket International Ground, Kirtipur. Thanks to the efforts of Rossington and Arjun, Pokhara achieved the target with 2 balls to spare and secured the fifth place.
Rossington, who had scored the highest score of 323 runs in the competition, was out for 65 runs. He hit 4 fours and 5 sixes in 48 balls before being out in the 15th over. Captain Kushal Bhurtel was out for 4 runs in 10 balls.
Arjun, who was playing his first match in the competition, remained unbeaten on 43 runs in 53 balls. He hit 2 fours and 1 six. Jason Roy remained unbeaten on 6 runs in 8 balls. Chitwan's Saif Zaib and Region Dhakal took 1 wicket each.
Both these teams had already been eliminated from the play-off race. Pokhara ended the competition with its third victory in 7 matches. Chitwan, which was seen as a strong team, suffered its fifth defeat. Chitwan, who finished fourth last season, will be seventh after the last match of the league stage on Sunday.
Earlier, Chitwan played the entire innings under pressure after losing 3 wickets for 7 runs. Arjun Saud and Ravi Bopara were out for 1-1 and David Malan was out for 5 runs. Jaib scored 17 runs in 18 balls and hit 1 six.
Dev Khanal scored the highest 35 runs. He hit 1 four and a six in 41 balls. Captain Kushal Malla scored 23 runs in 23 balls. He could not hit any boundaries. Chitwan crossed the 100-run mark only after Ugandan player Alpesh Ramjani scored 33 runs in 22 balls.
Playing his first match in the competition, he hit 1 four and 2 sixes in 22 balls. Kamal Singh Airi remained unbeaten after scoring 2 runs in 3 balls. Dhananjay Lakshman, who was injured while bowling, could not complete his bowling quota. He took 3 wickets for 20 runs in 3.2 overs. Bipin Khatri, Kiran Thagunna and Rohit Chandan, who was playing his first match in the tournament, took 1 wicket each.
